Venice in France? Storming the castle and Gnocchi.
All in one day? You betcha! We woke to construction noise from the room below us thanks to a burst pipe. The water being shut off was a nice touch. Vowing to have a great day still, we ventured West along the coast in our unstoppable Renault Twingo. Our first stop was in Port Grimaud. It’s a tiny village built unto the water along the southern coast of France across from Saint Tropez. It’s very touristy, but beautiful. Boats sail in from the sea and dock amongst the pastel colored buildings. Cafe’s and restaurants are numerous, but appeared a little pricey due to their location. There is free access to the top of the local church and you are rewarded with stunning views of the port after a steep spiraling stair climb.
We then drove to the actual village of Grimaud, on top of which sits a ruined castle. We had access to every part of the castle and enjoyed panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and coast. The village which surrounds castle is very charming and is well tended by the residents. Minus the cars parked along the streets, it really felt like you were walking
From the desk of John Henderson
It’s been a wild first few days…whew! We went more than 24 hours without sleep the first day, ending with a white knuckle drive in our mighty Renault Twingo along the coastal roadways between Nice and Saint Maxime. Did I mention I nearly missed our connecting flight in London thanks to the apparently suspicious looking kindle in my carry-on bag? (Thank you Janelle for confronting the airline clerk at the gate!).
After 15 hours of sleep in our hotel we recovered from our jet lag, sort of. The first day was spent in a mental fog driving lost through the South of France searching for a functional power adapter for our computer. While the lifestyle in this region appears generally relaxed, the drivers are apparently training to be Formula-1 drivers. Those on motorcycle/scooters are simply suicidal. As our plan was to continue to learn French using Rosetta Stone on the computer, we were prepared to purchase a roughly $100.00 power cord for our MacBook Pro from a local electronics store. Fortunately the kind staff at our hotel called a local, for lack of a better term, “convenience store” and located one. It must have been the only US power adapter in the area! After blowing the dust off of it, and some minor sparking at the hotel, it works great! Still working on getting a picture page up, but due to lack of internet connection at our first workaway it may take a little time. Storming a medieval castle? Venice in France? Check out the next post…
– John
True Love Travel 